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A New Voice in Orange County

A group of Orange County Democratic and liberal leaders will soon launch a non-profit online news site dedicated to â€œreal-time investigative coverageâ€ in three languages. Spearheaded by former state Sen. Joe Dunn, a Democrat from central Orange County, the site will be called â€œVoice of OC,â€ and will be modeled on â€œVoice of San Diego,â€ a daily news site lauded as an innovative approach to local coverage.

The Orange County site, to be launched by the end of the year,Â will be fundedÂ with a $140,000 start-up grant from the Orange County Employees Association, the countyâ€™s largest union. Organizers will also seek donations, foundation money and PBS-style memberships, according to aÂ press release issued today.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the School of Law at UCI, will serve on the board, which will be chaired by Dunn and rounded out with veteran reporters, former lawmakers and attorneys. Norberto Santana Jr., a formerÂ investigative reporter from The Orange County Register, will be executive editor of the news operation.

A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday. The press release described the site as â€œan independent non-profit online news operation focused on giving residents real-time investigative coverage of the institutions and power brokers that impact their daily lives.â€